Embedding Campaigns in News Stories: Why It Matters and How to Do It

I’m willing to bet this has happened to you or someone you know – let us know if you’ve heard this one before. You see an article online on a news website about a family, nonprofit, or project that needs help. The article says that the cause has raised a certain amount of their goal, and names the website that the crowdfunding campaign is hosted on, but doesn’t link to it directly.

Many people stop right there – they’re not going to go hunting for a campaign to donate to if it wasn’t directly shared. But for those of you that do, when you do eventually find the campaign on the crowdfunding website, the amount raised has changed dramatically. The article you saw feels like it was out of date, and you wonder if the campaign even still needs your support. You’re left feeling confused, questioning the timeliness of the article, and abandon the process of supporting the campaign in need.

Does this sound like a good experience? It’s pretty much the ultimate lose-lose scenario for causes and the media outlets that cover them. It’s the status quo, and yet it’s a situation that’s easily mitigated!

Every campaign on FundRazr has a resizeable widget that’s incredibly easy to embed in most content management systems (think WordPress or Blogger). All you have to do is copy and paste the codes for the size of the widget you want to embed in the article, and there’s a live link to the campaign that tracks the campaign progress. This way, the article is never out of date when referencing how much a campaign has raised, because the live tracker is right there, and readers can easily find and access the campaign, or donate right from that page if they feel so inclined.

When you start a FundRazr project, FundRazr automatically generates widget code for your project. All you need to do is copy and paste the widget code into your Website or blog, or send to the journalist you’re working with. The widget code allows supporters to view, share, and donate to a project without ever leaving your site. There’s also absolutely no extra cost. Want the full details on how to embed widgets? We have a step-by-step guide on our support page here. Want to see what it looks like in an article format? Check out our Crowdfunding the Olympic Dream post or the Vancouver Sun Children’s Fund to see what embedded campaigns can look like.

This is a great way for journalists to make sure they link to the primary campaign article source, and have relevant imagery included in the article. For campaign owners who are pitching online news sources, it’s as simple as just letting the outlet you’re working with know that this is an option for them if they’re interested. In this way, their story is never outdated, and you don’t miss out on potential contributions and support because your campaign is difficult to find or not linked directly.